Method of removing accretions



UNITED STAT-ES iAT ENT OFFICE.

SAMOEL RICHARD GARR AND RALPH F. BARKER, OF GARFIELD, UTAH, ASSIGNORS TO AMERICAN SMELTING- 85 REFINING COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF REMOVING ACCRETIONS.

Specifi cation of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921.

No Drawing. Application filed June 22, 1917, Serial No. 176,276. Renewed .lanuary 15, 1920. Serial No. 351,555.

7 T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL RICHARD Green, a citizen of the United States and resident of Garfield, county of Salt Lake, State of Utah, and RALPH F. BARKER, a citi- Zen of the United States, and resident of Garfield, county of Salt Lake, and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Removing Accretions of which the following is a speciiication.

In certain metallurgical processes now practised in smelting plants, such for instance, as in the process of converting matte, the furnaces utilized in carrying out the processes frequently become coated or the bottom covered with crusts or accretion and this is articularly noticeable in those converters w ich become filled up during use with an accumulation known as high bottom. This accumulation is due to numerous causes such as the presence of insufficient heat ascribed to cold matte, poor grade flux and other causes incidental to usual furnace operations. This high bottom is a mixture of slag, metallic oxid, copper, white metal and other foreign substances. The presence of these accumulations seriously affects the successful operation of the metallurgical processes taking place in the furnace, in that they reduce the available internal capacity of the furnace; allow splash and necessitate the reduction of air pressure thus materially increasing the time necessary to blow a charge.

Numerous methods have been suggested for removing these accumulations which methods usually depend upon some blasting operation which seriously affects the brick linings of the furnace or-necessitates the introduction of highly silicious ores for flux so as to maintain the high temperature, all of which methods are either expensive or severe in their destructive actions on the furnace or its lining.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and efficient method for removing or preventing the formation of the accumulation and an incidental object is to obtain this result without materially reducing the temperature or interrupting the operation of the furnace for any extensive length of time,

This object is. attained broadly by temporarily interrupting the normal operation of the furnace and While cooling to intro duce oil onto the accumulation, then to restore the furnace to its normal operation. To specifically illustrate one application of the method it is assumed that a basic lined converter of any conventional form is partially filled with the accumulation known as high bottom. Whenever this accumulation becomes so extensive as to aifect the successful operation of the converter, a charge of oil which in general may be any of the available hydrocarbon oils, and specifically may be any of the commercial forms of crude oil now on the market is introduced into the furnace while still hot. The oil may be heated before it is introduced to the furnace but this is immaterial if the furnace itself is sufficiently hot. The converter is either cooled down or heated up to the point that when oil is put in it just smokes. This is an indication that the converter is at the proper temperature for applying the oil. Apparently the high bottom absorbs the oil for the liquid oil gradually disappears. After a certain amount of oil has been introduced the converter is started and after a time which in one case occupied about ten days active operation of the converter, it was found to be entirely free of the high bottom.

It is obvious that by means of this method a cheap and effective cleansing of the fur nace is effected and this operatio has no deleterious efl'ect upon the brick lining or upon the furnace itself. The full charging capacity of the furnace is utilized at all times, splashing is eliminated, the full air blow from the twyers is maintained, all 00- acting to increase the efficiency of operation of the furnace.

Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. In the art of removing accumulation from metallurgical furnaces, the method which includes the step of ejecting a hydrocarbon on to said accumulations.

2. In the art of removing accumulation from metallurgical furnaces, the method which includes the step of introducing oil into the accumulations.

3. In the art of removing high bottom from converters, the method which consists in introducing oil into the high bottom and heating the high bottom so oiled.

4. In the art of removing high bottom from converters, the method which consists in adding oil to the high bottom until some of the oil is absorbed by the high bottom and restoring the converter to its normal operative condition.

'5 In the artof removing accumulations from metallurgical furnaces, the method which consists in adding hot crude oil to the accumulations until the oil is absorbed by the accumulations, subjecting the furnace togetherrwith the accumulations and adhering oil to a heat. 7

6. In the art of removing accumulations from metallurgical furnaces; the method which consists in introducing into the furnace While still hot a charge of crude oil as long as the accumulations absorb the oil and then restoring the furnace to its active normal operative condition.

SAMUEL RICHARD GARR. RALPH F. BARKER. I 

